


Riptides

by fricktorfuentes



Category: All Time Low
Genre: Lifeguards, M/M, mild medical procedures
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-01-22
Updated: 2016-02-11
Packaged: 2018-05-15 13:17:49
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 14,086
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5786581
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fricktorfuentes/pseuds/fricktorfuentes
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jack Barakat is a lifeguard at the world-famous Bondi Beach. He's used to pulling people out of the water, returning lost children to parents, and finding personal belongings strewn across the sand.  What he doesn't expect to come across is his missing piece suspended fifteen inches below the sea's surface.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This story is predominantly in Jack's POV, only the opening is in Alex's. Let me know what you think.

Alex hadn’t intended to swim as far out as he’d ended up doing. He was a regular swimmer at the beach, the cooling water helped him to clear his head after a long day at work, particularly enjoying coming down just before dusk when the majority of people had packed up and gone home. Tonight was no different. He’d dumped his towel, wallet, and house keys before getting into the water; only now he was regretting it. It had taken a mere minute for him to find himself unable to touch the ocean floor which didn’t alarm him at first, (because sandbanks do move sometimes) until he glanced back at the beach and found himself a lot further away from solid ground than he’d thought he was. A pit of dread settled in his stomach as he attempted to get closer to the beach again only to end up even more out of his depth. Actually, when he focused on the shore line Alex could swear it was getting more out of reach with every second.

That’s when the panic set in. What if he couldn’t get back? _He could drown._ He cursed himself for swimming so late on in the day when there was barely anyone to notice him. But no, he was going to get back. He wasn’t going to let a little water be the end of him. Alex forced himself to swim harder back towards the shore against the heavy weight of the current that was surely trying to be the death of him. He couldn’t give up though. He had to get back. He just had too. He kicked his legs faster and tried to propel himself towards shore. But it was to no avail, as the drag of the water was making his muscles ache with tiredness. His eyes stung with tears as he continued to struggle and wear himself out, he felt like he couldn’t breathe as he gasped out working himself past his limits. Alex may have been a regular swimmer but it was only casual swimming. He didn’t know how to handle this.

On the brink of exhaustion he fearfully looked around, hoping to see anyone that might be able to get help. Out of the corner of his eye he saw three people to the far north of the beach sat to watch the sunset. On the promenade a few people were walking dogs or skate boarding by without a care in the world.

“HELP!” He cried out as loudly as possible. “ _SOMEBODY HELP ME!_ ” He didn’t want to drown. The direful realisation that no one could hear him sent a dismal feeling flooding through his veins. He didn’t want to be washed up cold and dead on some beach miles away. He didn’t want this to be it. He waved an arm above his head as he tried to get someone to notice. Alex was still attempting to get back to shore while calling out and occasionally waving his arms around –the universal ‘help I’m drowning’ signal – when he first slipped under the water.

Alex wasn’t prepared for it and was shocked to find that he couldn’t breathe and it was dark. He’d winded up swallowing a mouthful of water before managing to sputter his way back to the surface. When his head hit the air again he coughed and it rattled through his body like an earthquake. This wasn’t good and he knew it. He was weakly almost doggy paddling against the tide when he screamed out again, to what he assumed was deaf ears. In a matter of moments he plunged back under and found it was more taxing to get back up this time - his muscles just wanted to give in. His mom would kill him if he let himself drown. That woman would find a way to drag him back to the living just to kill him again. He had to keep going, for her, for himself.

He feebly managed to get his head above the water long enough to get another breath before slipping back under. He didn’t know how long he’d be able to keep this up; the adrenaline from the panic was wearing off and giving way to something he hadn’t felt before. If there was one thing Alex was sure of it was that he was most definitely going to drown.

~~~

**Jack's POV:**  
“Hurry up Zack I’m hungrrrry.” Jack whined childishly as Zack pulled the garage door up. They’d already checked the main station for Zack’s mobile and now they were still trying to hunt the damn thing down. “Why couldn’t we come back after? All the guys are waiting for us.”

Their boss had organized their work’s party purely for bonding time between the old and new crew and he wasn’t a fan of people not being punctual. They weren’t quite going to be late yet, but if Zack didn’t hurry up Riley would have the pair patrolling the promenade, answering the same questions over and over again. Sure, it was easy work, but the embarrassment of having to do a rookie’s job when you’d already made the cut made it undesirable. 

“I’ve told you already, I need to have it ‘cause Helen’s gonna be wondering what’s happened to me. You know what girlfriends are like.” Jack snorted a smile dancing on his lips as Zack stumbled to get the right words. “Sorry, sorry partners. You know what partners are like. One minute you don’t reply, the next they think you’re dead or sleeping with someone else… can’t be uncontactable for too long.” Zack clambers into the buggy he’d been driving earlier and starts rummaging in the small front compartment that’s meant to be for the walkie-talkies but usually winds up packed with food wrappers. 

“Yeah _right._ ” Jack chuckled leaning against the garage wall looking out across the beach. “I know you and I know Helen –you only want it so you can sext each other during the meal.” He looks down at his freshly polished shoes and runs a foot across the sand smoothing it out beneath him -most people wouldn’t dream of going on the beach in their best clothes, but after two years of working on it you have sand on everything anyway.

“For your information, we don’t sext. We flirtatiously communicate about erotic subjects.”

Jack laughed. “Is that what they’re calling it now?”

He’s sure that Zack replied but his attention had focussed on something else, he’d heard something, a small noise coming from across the sand. “Did you hear that?” he asked a bit nervously, his senses on full alert as he scanned the waterfront. Then he saw it and his heart leapt in his chest. A person appearing from under the water and flailing their arms, upon hearing a croaky distant cry of ‘help’ it took less than half a second for Jack’s instincts to kick in. “GET THE SKI!”

He kicked his shoes off and grabbed the closest rescue board and set off at a sprint towards the water. The boy had already gone back under - it was a race against the clock. The only thoughts running through Jack’s head were focussed on finding him and doing so as quickly as possible. If he’d gone under and wasn’t coming back up he had maybe 90 seconds at best before he’d breathe in water - if he hadn’t already. Thankfully as he threw himself into the rip and began to paddle with it, another cry for help rang out and Jack saw the fear stricken boy slip back under for a second time. The riptides at this beach were notorious for tiring the uneducated swimmers while dragging them far out, especially by the cliffs. With the help of the rip, he reached the area he’d seen the boy and saw him suspended about fifteen inches below the surface his arms were moving slowly trying to pull himself up.

He didn’t need to anymore though. 

Jack reached in, grabbing his arm and hoisting him back to the surface and towards the board. The kid immediately gasped and started coughing up water almost instantly after. Jack dismounted his board signalling back to Zack who was already moving the Jet Ski into the water that they’d need medical equipment.

“Hey, it’s okay. We’ve got you.” Jack got the kid to hold onto the board the best he could then held onto him. Normally he’d get the kid to lie on the board, but with Zack already on the way he just had to get him to stay above water and keep conscious until he got closer. The kid was struggling to keep his head up and eyes open which concerned Jack a lot, especially as he was still struggling to breathe. “Hey KID. _KID_ you’ve got to keep your eyes open for me. Can you tell me your name?”

The kid mumbled something that Jack didn’t quite catch “What was that?”

“Yur baltmore.” The kid slurred, glancing up at Jack with dopey eyes. “Yur frum balmore.”

“Balmore?” Jack kept his grip on the kid as Zack sped towards them. “Do you mean Baltimore?”

The boy made a noise of agreement barely audible above the sound of the Jet Ski now approaching their side. “That’s right I’m from Baltimore, is that where you’re from kid?”

“Nots a kids ‘m tvwenty.” He managed to wheeze out before another coughing fit took hold.

Jack took a moment to look at the guy’s face properly and concluded he wasn’t as young as he’d first thought. He was probably about the same age as himself, so twenty wasn’t out of the question. Zack had pulled the ski to a stop, waiting for Jack to load them up. “Alright dude, we’re gonna get on the back, okay?”

Jack treaded water as he got a grip on the older man and carefully guided him to the ski’s rescue platform, then helped him get up far enough to lie down.

“What’s your name buddy?” Zack asked peering back as Jack hoisted himself onto the board as well –they’d get the rescue board later.

For the second time that evening he didn’t respond. Jack got a grip on the side rope by reaching over the boys back, securing them both on the board. He repeated the question again, hoping for a positive response. “Do you know what your name is?”

The guy glanced up, his eyes heavily lidded as he tried to focus on Jack. He raised a finger and opened his lips to speak. “Al-”

His body cut him off as he entered another coughing fit. At the close proximity Jack could see the faint blue tint around the man’s lip’s which concerned him even more. Jack looked up to Zack. “Okay just get us in.”

“I dun…I dun veel so good” 

“You feel sick?” Jack got a small nod in response as Al made a groaning noise - still struggling to catch his breath. “It’s alright buddy, you’re gonna be alright.”

The second Zack stopped the ski in the shallow waters Jack dismounted the board, lifting the guy back to his feet. He secured one of Al’s arms over his shoulder, and the other around his waist before setting off for the sand. Before he’d even walked Al the short distance to the sand, Zack was halfway to the station for the medical equipment. He was glad one of the fastest runners of the team was with him.

They reached solid ground and were just a few steps from being entirely out of the waves reach when he felt Al’s head drop heavily onto his shoulder, and only just managed to catch his mumbled slur. “I veel weird.”

Jack was about to question ‘What sort of weird?’ when the man to his left went limp, leaving Jack to hold all of his weight. Jack carefully walked the last two steps and gently lowered Al onto the sand. With his eyes rolled back and his drained complexion Jack could’ve sworn he looked dead, his own heart faltered when his fingers didn’t find a pulse the first time. His hands were shaking slightly from the adrenaline as he tried again and this time he felt something. In a rush Jack planted his ear on the man’s chest and was relieved to hear a heartbeat through the pounding in his own ears. It sounded strange, but it was there, and that was all that mattered.

It was all a bit of a rush from that point on, Zack got back with the first response bag slung over his shoulder talking quickly on his phone as he tossed it down to Jack, who wasted no time in fishing the oxygen out and attaching the mask to the man’s face. He seemed to respond quite quickly with colour slowly returning to his cheeks. They worked together to get Al as stabilised as possible before the paramedics showed up. By the time they arrived and they were finally carrying Al on the stretcher up to the ambulance, a small group of people had gathered on the promenade to watch the scene unfold. With it being not uncommon to have people watching, they just got on with the job at hand of loading Al into the ambulance –they work at a world famous beach, of course people wanted to watch.

As the paramedics got ready to leave, Zack trudged over and engulfed Jack in a short, bone crushing hug. “Good job Jack-o, I wouldn’t have heard him.”

“Thanks, you did good too –you had the ski out pretty damn fast.” Jack’s focus was still on the open back door of the ambulance, as he watched the paramedic finish up sticking patches to Al’s chest. His mind started to wander to what they’d said in the water, Al was from Baltimore just like himself – _Could their parents know each other? Why was he in Australia? How long would he be here for?_ With questions swimming around his head he almost missed the paramedic’s words.

“Thank god you guys were here; he’s a very lucky man.” She smiled, pulling the door to. “Keep up the good work boys.”

Then they’re gone, speeding off with the lights and sirens blaring - leaving Jack and Zack with the aftermath. They stand silently looking out to sea for a minute, giving themselves time to catch up with everything that had happened. The warm breeze brings Jack’s soaked and sand covered clothes to his attention. He’d been fully dressed when he’d thrown himself in the water without a second thought. He didn’t regret that in the slightest, but now his jeans were clinging in all the wrong places and his new shirt was looking a vastly different colour to when he’d started the night.

Zack wasn’t fairing much better but he’d had chance to rip his shirt off before throwing on the life jacket for the Jet Ski. Jack looked him up and down checking for anything noticeable “Are you alright?”

“I’m good, you okay too?” Jack nodded in response he was fine, he was just soaked and a little tired. It was all about teamwork. In this profession they couldn’t afford to not look after each other.

It didn’t take long to retrieve the rescue board and return the Jet Ski back to the garage. In what felt like a mere minute Jack found himself stood back in the garage doorway waiting for Zack to fill out the incident report for the two of them. The stretch of water was empty now and the people who had been lingering on the sand and promenade had left. Another quick scan of the beach had Jack trudging across the sand towards a bright blue lump. The beach towel lay abandoned, which wasn’t uncommon –people left stuff all the time. As he picked it up a set of house keys and a wallet clattered to the sand.

“What in the-” Jack frowned, picking up the items and brushing the sand off. It took him flipping the wallet open and yanking the identity card out for the penny to drop –All of it was Al’s, or should he say Alexander’s? He looked the ID over, noting how Alexander was actually really cute when he wasn’t drowning. He slid the card back into its slot and looked at the other cards for an address, frustrating all he could find was a couple of coffee loyalty cards and a bank card. Not doubting that Al would come back down for it all when he got released from hospital, Jack dragged his ass back to the station just as Zack was locking the garage door.

“Can you unlock upstairs, I’ve got to put this stuff in the safe –It’s Al’s” Zack nodded and they both climbed up the steps to the main station – it was eerily quiet at night without the hum of the computer screens and air conditioning. Not to mention the lack of constant talking was unsettling to Jack. Once he’d shoved the valuables into the safe and locked it, he looked up at the clock suspended on the wall –they had 3 minutes to get to the restaurant and both Zack and himself needed to go home and change before they could show their faces. “I think we’re gonna be late to the meal.”

Zack laughed. “Somehow I think they’ll understand.”

“We should call Riley and let him know what happened.” Jack tossed Alexander’s towel into the regular lost property box as they headed out the door. “At least then they’ll wait for us and Dave won’t eat our share of the pizza.”

“I swear all you think about is your stomach.” Zack teased, unlocking his phone to call ahead with their more than reasonable excuse.

“Hey that’s not true!” Jack whined but paused trying to think of something else that occupied his mind as much as food. “I mean, I definitely think about my dick too.”

Zack rolled his eyes with a smile dancing on his lips, but he wasn’t going to give Jack the satisfaction of laughing at his words. They took a turn heading towards Jack’s apartment as Riley finally answered his phone. With Zack explaining the situation, Jack had a moment with his own thoughts again and they wandered back to Al – rescuing people from the sea was a part of his daily life, but it wasn’t every day he winded up rescuing people after his shift ended. He was thankful that Zack had left his mobile at the station now, because if he hadn’t the boy with the pretty brown eyes wouldn’t have made it back to shore and they’d have been doing a body search in the morning. The enormity of the situation always took a while to sink in for Jack, and when it did an abundance of relief washed over him- they’d saved someone who’d hopefully live to see another day.


	2. Chapter 2

Jack rolled up to the station at midday the next day; the December sun was high in the sky and beating down on the beach. The run up to Christmas was always busy and the sweltering heat was proving to be too much for some of the beach goers. When he stepped inside he found Tommo and Jenna tending to someone who’d collapsed in the first aid bay. He’d barely had chance to tear his gaze away when Riley was calling him over to the monitors.

“I was looking through the cctv from last night and you might want to see this.” Jack focussed on the screen watching the time on it tick round to 7:10 pm and someone, who could only be Al, dumping his stuff on the sand before heading into the water. Riley fast forwarded through the video to a point where the gaps between Alexander dropping under the water and resurfacing were getting increasingly long. “He was trying to get back in for almost fifteen minutes before he first went under, then he kept fighting. If you look at screen three, you can see Zack and yourself in the garage.”

Jack watched intently, knowing there was a lesson to be learned from this or Riley wouldn’t be showing it to him.  If he didn’t know any better, he’d have said that there was another skunk-dyed haired man propelling himself into the water just mere seconds later. Riley re-winded the short amount of time and Jack saw himself fly across the screen again. “That’s your new personal best Jack-o. If you perform like that in the challenge you’ll probably be in the top 3.”

The annual Lifeguard Ironman Challenge wasn’t until January, but over the last year Jack had been pushing himself to train more and clearly it was paying off. Last year he’d placed thirteenth and although that wasn’t particularly high, it’d earned him the respect of the other lifeguards. Astonished didn’t even cover the emotion Jack was feeling at that second in time, he was in complete disbelief. “You really think?”

Riley nodded. “You’re a force to be reckoned with; if you keep your training up you might even beat me.”

Jack laughed at the ludicrous possibility that he could be a competitor for the prize position. Even if he put his mind to it, there wasn’t enough training in the world that could get him to peak above those who’d been competing for years. It was a nice thought though.

Jack got up and headed for the window to watch the beach as usual, when he noticed Zack wasn’t sat beside him; he frowned looking back over his shoulder at Riley. “Where’s Zack?”

“Promenade patrol.” He stated, flicking through some notes on a clipboard. “And locker room duty later. He did well last night too, but the fact that you were here because he’d had his phone on the buggy can’t go unpunished. It serves as a reminder to everyone that your mobiles stay in here or your locker and turned off unless you’re on a break.”

A chorus of ‘yes boss’ rang out through the station so Jack nodded, looking back out at the coast with his binoculars. It couldn’t have been ten seconds before Riley’s voice returned to his ears. “Oh and Jack-o, I need you to swap with Pixie down by the swim zone, he’s been out all morning and we all know he’ll look like a tomato if I leave him out all day.”

Jack bounced to his feet, quickly dumping his mobile before making his way out onto the steps. The moment he stepped out a smirk pulled at his lips as he called back through the open door “Hey Tommo, lover boy’s here.”

Tommo stumbled out of the first aid bay and past Jack, a grin already plastered on his face as he bounded down the metal staircase and threw himself straight into the arms of his boyfriend.  Jack felt something flutter in his chest as he watched the two interact; he soon pinpointed the feeling as pining. He pined for that sort of relationship with someone where you could wear your heart on your sleeve and never worry about distance. Tommo’s boyfriend flew ten thousand miles just to get here for this moment –Tommo hadn’t shut up about it since last week. A few of the other guys joined Jack to watch the scene, hooting and teasing as Tommo clung to his boyfriend that little bit tighter than necessary. In Jack’s opinion, Louis ‘Tommo’ Tomlinson was quite possibly the luckiest man on the beach at that moment. 

“Alright lovebirds break it up, Tommo take a long lunch but be back by two.” Riley was strict but he was kind, and seeing the two together had put a smile on the whole team's faces.  Louis dropped back to the floor, taking his boyfriend's hand before replying with a thank you. Jack wasn’t sure if Louis’ glossy eyes would be noted by the rest of the team and be a source of embarrassment for him in the coming weeks, or if they’d let it slide. He hoped they’d let it slide –their brother had his lover ‘home’ for Christmas which was a wish most of them didn’t need to make. Jack didn’t like to think of himself as an envious person, but he had to admit watching people have family and friends around the holiday time always made him feel a pang of jealousy. The only other gay guys on the team were happily taken, and the majority of the others were happy with their relationship statuses. It was only really him that felt odd without another half -despite being single since he was fourteen.

He replaced Pixie and settled into the buggy with Cam for a few hours of chatting, and fishing kids who’d swam too far out from the water. Aside from helping a couple of lost kids find their families the day was pretty uneventful - the number of volunteers and lifeguards on duty meant nobody got into too much trouble. The extra eyes on the shore always made their jobs easier, and the visitors safer.

By five, the numbers on the beach were slowly dispersing and Jack found himself stood beside Zack who was muttering profanities subtly under his breath –from what Jack could gather, someone had taken a shit in the shower cubicles  _ again _ .  Jack found it hilarious, but mostly because he wasn’t the one who’d had to clean it up.  He’d been sent to help Zack hose down the tiles after the leaving rush. It always surprised him that there was even any sand left on the beach every time he got assigned the bathroom. 

“Is it just me or have Harry and Louis been in that supply closet for twenty minutes?” Jack asked, staring at the little blue door in the corner as he continued to rinse the wall.

“Hmm I think you’re right, must be giving him a very special in depth tour.” Zack waggled his eyebrows a laugh leaving his lips. “You see that’s the perk of being gay, you get to have quasi-public sex in bathrooms without being questioned for why the other one was in there.”

“Well it’s never stopped you and Helen.” Jack smiled. “I remember last Christmas, and judging by the noise you were making you should remember too.”

“Shut up.” Zack’s face flushed red in embarrassment. “You promised not to talk about that.”

“Oh did I?”

Before Zack could retaliate their walkie-talkies crackled to life making both of them freeze “I need Jack-o to the main station please. That’s Jack-o to the main station, over.”

“Oooh someone’s in trouble.”

“As if.” Jack flicked the hose pipe at Zack spraying him with the water. “Was I the one who had to clean shit off the floor? No, I wasn’t.  Who’s getting to leave cleaning duty? Oh yeah, me. Have fun having nothing to mask the sound of Tommo getting it on.”

When he got back to the tower, he didn’t really know what he was walking in to. Sure he’d been confident that he wasn’t in trouble, but how certain could he really be? He was about to find out either way as he pushed the door open and climbed the last few steps.

“Ah Jack-o, good. Get your things you’re going on an adventure.” Riley gestured to Jack's mobile that he’d left on the counter hours ago.

“Adventure?” Jack looked dubious as he slid his phone into his pocket. Adventures usually meant a training run or filling in at one of the nearby beaches like Bronte or Tamarama. Neither of which Jack wanted to do; he was tired after his restless sleep the night before –he couldn’t get his thoughts about Baltimore out of his head.

“Yes adventure. Don’t look so skeptical, you’re getting off early for it!” Riley held out a carrier bag which Jack quickly took. Peering inside he saw the blue towel along with a set of keys and an unmistakeable wallet. “I need you to go up to the hospital and get these to Alexander – his details are on the cards. They called up and asked specifically if you’d be able to take them up for him.”

“Why? Like why ask for me?”

“He wanted to meet his knight in shining armour.” He laughed. “Seriously though, I’ve no idea. But seeing as we’re not short staffed you can go.”

Jack shrugged accepting the adventure. (Who’d be mad enough to turn down leaving work early?) He was halfway out the door when it dawned on him. “Wait, I never gave him my name.”

“Oh, well yeah, he actually requested the stripy-haired bastard, you’re the only one we got. So chop chop, get your ass up there.”

An hour later Jack was stood in front of a receptionist who was taking her time about ringing through to the ward to check it was okay for him to go up. He’d run out of flattery to give, and had resided to giving her puppy dog eyes as she continued to mess about on the computer without making any actual calls.

“And what was it again? Mr. Barbara cat?”

“Barakat, I’m the lifeguard he asked for. Can you _please_ call them already?”

The woman glanced up completely un-phased by the somewhat mock desperation in Jack’s eyes. “Hmm,  _ no _ . You’re not on his visitors list.” A small smile settled on her face.

“Of course I’m not on the visitors list -I’m just dropping off his house keys and stuff.” Jack was getting frustrated to say the least. Why couldn’t it be as simple as providing them with a name and date of birth and getting a ward number in return? “His ward  _ called _ me. They’re expecting me, I just can’t remember the number.”

“Well I’m sorry, but visiting is reserved for family members and people on the list. You’ll have to come back another day.” Satisfaction was painted on her face as the smug smile broadened. She was enjoying this far too much.  He was going to have to lie –and lie  _ well _ \-  to get around this one.

“Listen lady, I’m not being funny but I’m his cousin. I’m not on the list because he’s a stubborn bastard who insisted he didn’t need to have a hospital plan. The Nurse’s called my workplace and requested I bring his stuff personally. I just want to check he’s okay and get back to my job.” She wasn’t buying it. Not in the slightest. “We need each other, I just... I just don’t know what I’ll do if I don’t see him.” Jack forced his eyes to well up with tears. “I’d be eternally grateful if you could give me the ward number - I’ve been worried senseless about him since my colleagues told me they’d pulled him out the sea last night.”

Her stubborn expression barely faltered as Jack acted before her but the second he mentioned being grateful, she perked up biting down on her bottom lip in such a way Jack thought she resembled a llama, but was probably attempting to be flirty. “How grateful?” 

She twisted her hair around her finger, leaning in a little closer to him as she fluttered her eyelashes, and Jack wasn’t going to miss this opportunity. “Grateful enough to take you for coffee?”

He had the green light. The go ahead. The pass to freedom. Whatever you wanted to call it Jack had it in his hand. A slight mistruth about an exquisite café after his visit had the woman handing him a sticky note with the ward details and a few directions. It wasn’t a complete lie, he _would_ take her for coffee – it’d just be the hospital cafeteria, not something fancy… and he’d just be very, _very_ gay while there so she’d get the picture. If he hadn’t been so curious about this Alexander from Baltimore, he’d probably have handed the items to hospital security to save himself the hassle.  But no, he wanted to see him. He wanted to check on the stupid boy who didn’t pay attention in Swimmers Ed and nearly drowned as a result. He wanted to see what those pretty brown eyes would look like after a night of rest. He wanted to get this guy off his brain.

After navigating the hallways, Jack eventually saw the ward number up ahead. A pang of worry fluttered through his veins as he read ‘Coronary Care Unit.’  His mind jumped back to being knelt on the wet sand, watching the ECG bounce around at an odd rhythm –they’d put it down to the stress of the situation and exhaustion, but had it been something more? Maybe he’d had something for years and stupidly gone swimming alone? Jack glanced at the ward opposite and noted it was the ICU which didn’t help settle his fears. What if he  _ died _ ?  He barely knew the guy and he couldn’t go in there looking like deer caught in headlights. He had to pull himself together. He tightened his grip on the carrier bag and pulled the door open –there was only one way he was going to find out, and that was to talk to him.

That’s if Alexander even wanted to.

Jack awkwardly rubbed the hand sanitiser into his hands and walked cautiously towards the nurse’s station. He felt like he’d been sent to the principal’s office all over again. He stood there awkwardly waiting for someone to come and point him to the right bed, the white board on the wall showed ‘GASKARTH’ was still on the ward, but before he could figure out the numbers and coding a short blonde nurse bounced to his side welcoming him with a bright smile.

“You must be here to see Alex.” Her bubbly personality was relaxing Jack by the second. “Come on, I’ll show you to his bed.”

_ Alex. _

To say he was nervous was the understatement of the year. Jack hadn’t visited anyone he’d rescued before, and he certainly hadn’t been requested. Jack and hospitals didn’t really mix; he’d spent his fair share of time in the emergency room growing up but the last time he’d been in a ward was when his grandmother passed. He was working himself up a bit because he didn’t want to see anyone else on death’s door, but then the nurse stopped in front of a side room and his eyes landed on the pretty brunette boy he’d pulled out of the water.

He didn’t look like he was dying, which was a good start. Compared to last night Jack could describe him as radiant –but he still looked _sick_ or at least a little under the weather. His skin had more colour than last night, but it still had a pale tinge to it. Wires were stuck all over his chest, and a cannula hooked over his ears.  Jack was still taking it all in when Alex’s brown eyes met his and lit up as he grinned.

“I’ll leave you two to it.” The nurse walked off, leaving Jack to awkwardly stand in the doorway and smile back at the boy before him.

“Er, hi? I, er, brought your stuff.” Jack held the bag up awkwardly, still standing in the doorway. Not really knowing what to say, he smiled lopsidedly and waited for a reply.

Alex’s smile widened. “Yeah, hi.” He motioned for Jack. “Come in, come in, I don’t bite.”

“I do.” Jack joked, walking over to the bed and fishing out the keys and wallet before passing them over. “I’m Jack, by the way.” He offered his hand for Alex to shake, which he took.

“Nice to meet you Jack, I’m Alex. You already know my name though.” Jack released his grip and stood there feeling a little out of place in the sterile room.

“So, like, how are you? Sorry, stupid question.” Alex looked at him quizzically and Jack felt the embarrassment intensify with every millisecond.  _ Why did I ask that? Why would I say that? Oh god.  _ Jack mentally groaned and hoped he hadn’t set as bad of an impression as he felt he had.

But then Alex surprised him by chuckling and edging himself up to sit up straighter. “I’m getting there, thanks.”

“Getting where?” Jack asked before his brain could catch up. He was so nervous his verbal diarrhea was starting to kick in. 

Alex laughed and shook his head, causing a light blush to creep onto Jack’s face. “‘Getting there’ y’know? Like, getting better... Not as bad as I was, but not quite ‘there’ yet though. I mean, I’m nowhere near as bad as I could have been. You can sit there if you want.” He pointed to the chair beside his bed which Jack quickly sat in. “So, you’re the one who got me out?”

Jack nodded. “And Zack, he got the ski.”

Alex appeared to be lost in thought for a moment before he spoke again. “I don’t remember much… to be honest, I just remember not being able to get back to shore and then coughing up water as you yanked me onto your surfboard. Sorry about that by the way.”

“Not a problem, trust me. We’ve always had worse, I’m just glad you’re alive.” The blush was still prominent on his cheekbones. He felt like he’d already embarrassed himself beyond repair, suspecting Alex thought he was a complete idiot. He didn’t know _why_ he cared so much about what Alex thought, but he did. He felt like he had to redeem himself, and so Jack did that the only way he knew how: by rambling. “I only _just_ heard you when you cried out, I wasn’t even meant to be there. Zack had left his phone and we were trying to find it, and the next thing I knew we were packing you off in an ambulance. You do know the beach shuts at seven, right? You’re not meant to swim when we’re not there. Did you not pay _any_ attention in Swimmers Ed?”

He didn’t know if he was being harsh but  _ shit _ _ ,  _ Alex had  _ scared  _ him and left an impact that kept him wide awake most of the night. There was something about Alex that made Jack feel somehow responsible for his well being, and he really didn’t want to think about what would have happened if they hadn’t been there.

“I never had proper ‘Swimmers Ed’. I went to school in Baltimore and they just told us about the dirty harbour and not to swim in water towers, which we all did anyway.” Alex shrugged awkwardly. “We were young and dumb, what can I say?”

“Do you remember telling me I was from Baltimore?” Alex shook his head. “Well you did, it was the first thing you told me after you’d taken a break from trying to cough up your lungs.”

Alex looked surprised, clearly not recalling his words. “Was I right?”

Jack smiled. “You were. Actually, both Zack and me are from Baltimore. I moved over here when I was fourteen and Zack’s taking a gap year.”

“Cool.” Alex twitched, seemingly holding his tongue on something. The permanent smile etched on his face unaffected. 

“How did you even guess where I used to live?” Jack questioned, even if he was from his home state, Jack hadn’t been there in years. “Like, It was _creepily_ specific.”

Alex shrugged looking equally as confused as Jack. “Hell knows. I don’t remember what was going through my head, I thought I was going to die and the next thing I remember is waking up in the ER. I guess your american twang reminded me of home or something.”

“I don’t have an american twang.” Jack pouted childishly. “I’ve been here five years.”

“Sure, you keep telling yourself that.” A smirk danced on Alex’s lips. “Trust me, you sound more american than anyone else i’ve met here. What schools did you go to back home?”

Jack thought about it for a while, his mind completely blank. The shift in conversation leaving his brain scrambling to remember anything he could about his former life in Baltimore. “I honestly don’t remember –I know I went to Dulaney for like two weeks before we moved.”

“No fucking way.  You’ve got to be kidding me, I went to Dulaney too.” His laughter filled the room, making Jack smile. He decide at that moment that he liked Alex. He made him feel all warm and _fuzzy,_ but in a good way.  “I got enrolled a few weeks late though, because a place only became available after the semester started. Guess it  was probably yours.”

“So we only just missed each other, typical.” Jack paused. “But I wasn’t born in Baltimore, I was born in Lebanon.”

“Same, except I was born in England.” Alex fiddled with the thin white blanket over him. “Yet we both ended up here, one way or another.”

Jack agreed, they were both sat here in Sydney, miles away from where they’d started off and somehow winded up crossing paths. It was strange how the world worked. 

“It’s Cardiac Arrhythmia.” Jack looked back to Alex not knowing what he was on about. “That’s why I’m in here, if you were wondering. I’ve had it since I was younger but the medication hasn’t been working right and I had a reaction to the last one so they’re gonna give me a pacemaker. I’m gonna be part robot apparently.”

“Did the nearly drowning cause It or...” he trailed off, not wanting to invade Alex’s privacy.

“Oh nah, it just kind of made them realise it needed doing sooner rather than later. Which is pretty good, I’m not even on the waiting list anymore, they’re going to do it on the 21 st .” Alex seemed pretty happy with this development, so Jack smiled and nodded. “Once they get you in here, they don’t ever want to let you back out. Not sure my insurance company feels the same way though.”

“Yeah if it was up to them, they’d have you admitted two minutes before and sent home the second it’s over.” Jack joked. “Or even better, you could just not have it done.”

Alex smiled. “I think you might be onto something there. In all honesty, even I’d rather wait a few weeks –I’ve got this composition and essay that have to be in when we get back, and the prof won’t want it late.”

“Composition? You work for an orchestra or some shit?”  Jack looked puzzled as Alex frowned slightly.

“No? I’m a music major, my deadlines expanded because I’m working for A–with a band.” Alex cut himself off his smile returning. “I haven’t been in an orchestra since I was a kid.”

Jack was instantly more curious, he wanted to know more about the band he was working with and what sort of composition he was working on. But it was clear Alex wasn’t going to go into more detail. He shuffled in his chair quickly rambling. “I used to think of myself as a musician when I was about 14, I had a banged up guitar and tried to learn it, but I spent more time at the pool than I did with a guitar in my hands. Then we moved here and I left it behind, so it never really worked out.”

He was still a bit nervous, he’d never been excellent at small talk, and Alex was turning out to be more adorable the more time that passed. Cute guys were, and would always be Jack’s weakness –he’d known that since he was ten and developed his first crush on the next door neighbour Frank. Frank was older by a few years, he was 16 at the time and happily taken, but that hadn’t stopped the infatuation the younger boy had had on him. Thank god he’d thought it was funny and sweet that Jack followed him around like a puppy dog. Frank was Jack's older brother figure, and the crush did die off once he went to middle school and met Ben. 

“Earth to planet Jack, do you hear me?” Alex waved his hand in front of Jack’s face snapping him out of his daydream. “I said, how did you end up being a lifeguard?”

“Oh sorry.” Jack flushed red realising he’d completely zoned out thinking about how gay he was. “Well like I said, I was a good swimmer back in Baltimore, I was a competitive swimmer so I could already do the miles, and well when we got here I discovered surfing. I’d been surfing before when I was on holiday a couple of times, but now I had chance to practice. I joined the surf club and picked it up really fast. After that I just kept practicing and realised I loved the beach, and that I could do something good with my time. I volunteered in the holidays when I was seventeen, and then the second I was out of school I applied for an actual job. I’ve only worked here 2 years, but I’ve never looked back.”

Alex seemed genuinely impressed as his smile widened. “That’s so cool dude, I’m glad you haven’t looked back- My mom will be too.”

“I bet.”  He laughed. “What about you, what made you come to the land of Aus and study music?”

“I feel like we’re interviewing each other.” Alex laughed, relaxing back into his pillows. “I was always into music, when I was a kid I listened to anything I could get my hands on and my mum made sure to nurture that side of me I guess. Learnt a lot of instruments and theory, and started up a recording studio when I was fifteen. It practically exploded and industry people saw me and my makeshift studio picking up new talent, it got better as I got older. Then about a year ago, I got an offer to come down here and work with some great people, and they offered me a chance to study music while I was working, so I did.”

“You set up your own studio when you were  _ fifteen _ ?” Jack’s eyes widened and his jaw hung slack, how could a kid set up something like that?

Alex nodded. “I have my mum and dad to thank for that. It wasn’t anything special at first, but I’ve got people working for me now, so I’m glad they got me set up.”

Jack was struggling to comprehend what he was hearing; he was absolutely amazed at this man he’d pulled out of the sea the night before.  “Well count me as jealous, that’s just the dream right there. If you’re not in a band on stage you might as well be the one signing them.”

“That’s what I always say.” Alex made eye contact with Jack again making Jack’s heart sing. “I’m just naturally very lucky.”

“I could’ve guessed that, buddy.” Jack couldn’t help but feel butterflies in his tummy as Alex’s smile lit up the room. He was such a sucker for cute boys with pretty smiles, and laughs that made the world seem brighter. Alex happened to be a winning combination.

Alex looked up at the wall behind Jack, and his expression sank. “I guess you’ll have to be going soon.”

Jack whipped round looking up at the clock that read ‘20:02’ his expression quickly matched Alex’s. “Yeah, I guess I will. I’ve got work in the morning.”

“I wish you didn’t have to go, it’s nice to hear a bit of home.” Alex pouted letting out a small sigh. He was definitely hinting that he wanted Jack to come back –and Jack was a gentleman, so of course he’d volunteer.

“I can drop by after my shift tomorrow if you’d like. You can tell me more about how lucky you are and what music you like.”

Alex instantly smiled warming Jack’s heart and making him feel that little bit better about going home. “I’d love that, if you wouldn’t mind that is…”

“Of course I don’t mind – I wouldn’t have offered if I did.”  Jack started to get up. “I’ll stop by for the afternoon visiting time so about 2?”

“Sounds great to me.” Alex watched as Jack made his way to the door “Oh, and Jack…”

Jack looked back at Alex as he reached the door and the sincere words reached his ears. “Thank you, for everything.”

“I’d do it again in a heartbeat.” Jack smiled. “Get some rest Alex, I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Goodnight Jack.”

Jack was on cloud nine as he made his way down towards reception. Alex was amazing –a beautiful, talented man from a place he used to call home. And he was going to see him again, tomorrow. Jack could barely contain his excitement - so much for getting Alex off his mind.


	3. Chapter 3

It wasn’t a relaxed morning at work. The second Jack arrived he’d been thrown into doing two jobs at once. With Zack having called in sick along with Cam and Matt, Riley was in a foul mood. What he didn’t realise was that the day was about to take a massive _nose dive_ when Pixie managed to smash his nose as he opened the garage door. He heard it before he realised what had happened. A sickening _crack_ which Jack could have sworn was followed by an instant splatter. He’d looked up at Pixie who had stepped back in shock, cupping his face with his head facing the ground, swaying oh so slightly.

“Pixie? _Shit._ ” Jack was already on his way to steady him when he staggered slightly, making a whining noise. Once he was in front of the older man Jack had his hands on his shoulders and was trying to survey just how much damage he’d managed to do. “Pix, can you just move your hands for me? Just dead quick; I want to see-oh, yep, shit, okay.”

The sheer amount of blood that had gushed from his face when he’d moved his hands had Jack cringing. Pixie, although two years older than him, was like the kid brother Jack had never had. “First aid bay, you’re gonna be alright, Pix.”

Pixie looked at him like he had two heads and blinked owlishly at him. “I said first aid bay, come on.” He wrapped an arm around Pixie and guided him back up the steps; it took longer than Jack would have liked but with Pixie stumbling and unable to keep his balance it was a battle to get up the stairs. Once he had him through the door, the party really started. “Jen, Riley –Pix’s smashed his face in!”

“He’s done what?” Jenna appeared first; she took one glance at the blood now dripping out of Kellin’s cupped hands and his pale complexion and helped usher him onto the bed. Jack grabbed a handful of tissue and waited for Jenna to pry Kellin’s hands from his face –once they did, the sight made them both hiss. “Riley, I think you need to call Vic.”

“No, no no no.” Pixie managed to utter out, shaking his head as Jack gently pressed the wad of tissue to his nose and nipped it to try and stem the flow. The gash across the top of his nose showed cartilage and had yet more blood oozing from it. He was gonna need stitches at least. He’d seen similar stuff a hundred times before, the injury being relatively common among surfers, but the sight still made Jack feel off.

“Show me.” Riley had appeared behind them, his phone already pressed to his ear. “Ouch, that’s gonna sting tomorrow -Hello, Vic? Yeah it’s Riley. No, Kellin’s had an accident.” Riley wandered back out of the bay towards the door, leaving Jack and Jenna to try and patch up Kellin the best they could.

Jack put his hand on the back of Kellin’s head, gently tipping it forward while Jenna set about cleaning Kellin’s hands so there’d be less of a shock factor for Vic or any kids on the boardwalk; before either of them noticed Kellin was crying. “It’s going to be okay, Pixie. Vic’s coming.”

“No.” He whined again, crying harder. Jack didn’t know what to do other than rub his co-worker’s back. It was becoming clear that the door had smacked his head harder than they’d thought; even if Kellin was considered the baby of the family, he still didn’t usually act like this.

“It’s okay buddy, it’s okay.” Jack looked at Jenna for help but she was focused on getting Jack another wad of tissues. “Why don’t you want Vic to come, babe?”

“H-He’s gonna be _mad._ ” Kellin was definitely working himself up, but Jack had to admit he would be too if he’d just been attacked by the garage door. He’d had a few close shaves with it in the past. “He has a me-ee-ting.”

After changing the wad of tissues, Jenna and Jack set about reassuring him that Vic wouldn’t be mad and that accidents happen –it’s no big deal, everything was gonna be fine. They really did consider each other family when they worked together, and seeing Kellin in pain was pulling on both Jen and Jack’s heart strings. It’s different when it’s someone you’re not close to. You could switch off and just do what had to be done, but the second emotions got involved, that was another story altogether.

“No, I’m sure we don’t need an ambo, just you. You’re nearly here? Good. Right, bye... bye.” Riley hung up his phone call with Vic and sighed lightly. “What are we going to do with you, Pixie?”

Pixie shrugged, shoulders shaking slightly as he continued to cry; he’d calmed down a bit though so that was at least progress.

“Jack’s uniform cleaning bill must be skyrocketing.” Riley teased while fishing an ice pack out of the drawer for them.

Jack looked down at his blue shirt, now flecked with Kellin’s blood, to his bare feet and flip flops, both of which were also going to need hosing down. “At least the council pays for my uniform; my shirt from the other night cost me sixty dollars and now it doesn’t even fit.”

Riley laughed, handing Jenna the ice pack just as Vic came hurtling through the door, worry plastered across his face. The moment he saw his boyfriend sat bloody and in tears, he was wrapping him in a hug. It didn’t take Vic long to get it out of Kellin that it was the dodgy garage door’s fault, and that yes, he was in a lot of pain. With a little help from Jenna, within five minute’s Kellin was on his way to the medical centre and the bay was cleaned. 

Once he’d put the cleaning products back, Jack could feel Riley’s eyes burning into his back. They were another team member down, and his apparent light heartedness from earlier had been for Kellin’s sake, no one else’s. Jack had to bear the front of Riley’s rage at the maintenance crew for not fixing the door yet, and how he had the right mind to storm over to the head offices right that second, of course he couldn’t because now they _really_ didn’t have enough eyes on the beach. The only thing that stopped his rant was the radio crackling to life and Tommo breathlessly telling them he needed back up at post three.

“Get down there then.” Riley snapped, making Jack scurry out the door and round to the buggies. He quickly slung a medical kit in and raced up the beach to Louis, who had a woman in the recovery position. In the process of tending to her, he heard a kid screech out at sea. It was as Jack threw himself into the water that he realised just how difficult the morning was going to be.

By midday Jack felt like he’d done a full days graft. It was chaos until the volunteers showed up, and then Riley spent a good hour calling up people who had the day off to see if they could cover. Jack had convinced himself that he’d be asked to stay until late as he made his way back to the tower, but for the first time that day he was pleasantly surprised. Riley had managed to get together a group of part-timers to cover and Jack was free to leave. 

If he hadn’t been so tired he might have volunteered to stay and clock up some over-time while he had the chance. But the thought of a quick nap to recover from the bustle of the morning was much more appealing.

After a quick lunch and changing out of his uniform, opting for the shorts Jenna had made him from his old skinny jeans and a turquoise T-shirt, he felt much more awake. The thoughts of sleeping had ebbed away with the coffee he’d downed with his lunch, leaving him tottering around his apartment without anything that could hold his attention. He was impatient at the best of time, but as the clock creaked round so slowly that Jack thought it might have stopped he decided to throw caution to the wind and roll up to the hospital early. If they wouldn’t let him in he could just go talk to Monica again.

He’d stuck by his word after leaving Alex and taken Monica, the receptionist, to the café for coffee. It wasn’t as bad as he thought it’d be; she turned out to be really nice. Not nearly as nice as Alex, of course, but she was definitely someone Jack would go out for cocktails with.

When he got to the hospital, he was twenty minutes early. It was peaceful and welcomingly cool in comparison to outside. The streets had been rammed with holiday traffic and the bus hadn’t been as relaxing as usual. The bus had loaded up with irritable children who were tired after a morning on the beach and just as frazzled parents. Jack was used to noisy kids, just not in a confined space. He was pretty sure his ears would be ringing for a month after the ordeal.

Finding Alex’s ward was easier than the day before; all he had to do was avoid the beds being pushed around and not stumble into any of the doctors or nurses who were scurrying between wards. He decided to take the stairs on a whim, and as he rounded the corner out of the stairwell, he was glad he did. He faltered, looking at the two older men stood by the lifts. He was certain he’d seen them somewhere before, but he couldn’t put his finger on where. Before he could get caught staring, he went through the ward doors, only glancing back momentarily. It wasn’t until he passed the nurse’s station that it clicked. He’d seen Stevie Young and Brian Johnson talking in the corridor. He’d just casually walked past two of the AC/DC members like they weren’t cornerstones of rock.

Shell-shocked was the only feeling Jack was capable of feeling. He wasn’t about to go running back out; he wasn’t exactly a massive fan, but they weren’t people Jack expected to just see milling around in hospital corridors. He had a feeling Alex would like to know, though, especially as he was apparently so big on music. It briefly crossed his mind that maybe he _should_ go back and get a signature or something for Alex, something to lift his spirits while he was anchored to his hospital bed. But the more logical side of his brain confirmed that a hospital wasn’t the place to do it. He had no idea why they were there; he wouldn’t intrude.

As he reached Alex’s room he quickly realised Alex wasn’t alone. The door was ajar just enough for Jack to catch a glimpse of pale, curly brown hair. He didn’t know what to do, whether to leave and come back later when he wasn’t busy, or knock on the door and just ask if he should leave. While he was trying to decide what to do, the nurse from the day before appeared beside him, a cheery smile plastered on her face.

“Hello again!” she chirped, backing into Alex’s door to push it open. “You came back to see the birthday boy? I must say, he’s very popular today.”

“Birthday boy?” Jack asked, dumbstruck once again. It was Alex’s birthday? Why didn’t he say anything? He had to go find something, maybe a card? Wasn’t there a gift shop in the main lobby?

The nurse just chuckled, heading into Alex’s room while leaving the door wide open. The movement drew the curly haired man’s attention to the door.

“Alex, you’ve got another visitor outside.” The nurse told him, pulling his little table around the edge of the bed.

Just like that Jack’s plan to sprint down to the little shop and scribble out a happy birthday card were obliterated. It wasn’t like he was expected to bring anything but himself, but he couldn’t help but feel like it was rude, especially as his eyes landed on the array of cards on Alex’s bedside cabinet.

“Jack.” Alex called, causing Jack’s feet to trudge forward without his mind’s say-so.

He stopped at the end of Alex’s bed. “Happy birthday, sorry I didn’t like, get you a gift or anything, I didn’t know.”

Alex looked like he was about to reply, but then the curly haired man spoke first. “Don’t be daft, you gave him the best gift of all, still being here. I assume you’re the Jack I have to thank for that?”

“I er, yeah, I guess?” He turned, finally looking the other man in the face. Realisation, confusion, bewilderment, maybe even a little awe re-submerged him all over again as the man offered him his hand to shake.

The man smiled, connecting their hands. “I’m Angus, it’s good to meet you.”

“I know who you are.” Jack blurted, instantly embarrassed by his poor choice of wording. His gaze flicked to Alex who was smiling warmly from his bed.

Angus laughed, a smile still on his own face. “The music world would be more than a little lost without this young man, I think it’s safe to say we’re indebted to you. Anything you want, get Alex here to give us a call and we’ll sort something out.”

“Er, thank you?” Jack mumbled, not sure what to say. People always tried to give the team presents for work they’d done, but they could never accept them. It was morally wrong to accept something for just helping someone out. They weren’t doing the job for rewards; just getting the job done was more than enough. “I could never accept anyth-”

“-Nonsense. Have a little think about it, and then tell Alex.”

“Okay.” Jack tried to sound convincing, pulling the best grateful expression he could muster.

“Good.” Angus seemed happy with the result, looking between Jack and the clock on the wall. “D’ya think you could let go of my hand now, son?”

“Oh, sorry.” Jack dropped his hand and ignored the blush burning up his checks.

“I’ve got to go. Places to go, people to see. You know how it is.” Angus chuckled, giving a small wave to Alex. “I’ll see you when you get out; good luck tomorrow.”

“Thanks, see you at work.” Alex returned the small hand gesture, and Jack soon found himself staring after Angus as he headed off down the hallway. “Will you come and sit down? Blimey, it’s like you’ve never seen a man walk before.”

Jack forced his attention away from the now empty hallway and plopped himself into one of the plastic chairs. “That’s not just any man though, is it?”

“Oh come on, don’t tell me you’re a fanboy.” Alex teased. “I didn’t have you down for that.”

“I’m not, I’m not. I’m just, surprised? Really surprised. They’re _huge_ ; I thought you meant you worked with smaller bands, not legends.” Jack rambled, watching as the nurse finished placing a new cannula into Alex’s arm. “Like, jeez, who else have you worked with?”

“Let’s just say it’s too many to list.” Alex laughed, making his heartrate monitor bounce about a little faster. “Could’ve just as easily been someone the world’s never heard of yet.”

Jack didn’t know what to say so he nodded, and continued to watch as the Nurse swapped a drip.

“How was work?” Alex redirected the conversation. “Did anything interesting happen?”

“Not really, same as usual except some kid stood on a jellyfish by my station and cried for an hour.” Jack recalled, shrugging. “Oh, and Pixie broke his nose.”

“Pixie?” Alex asked, perplexed. “Who on earth calls their kid Pixie?”

Jack laughed, shaking his head. “It’s just his nickname; his real name is Kellin. Most of us have ‘em; mine’s Jack-o because I’ve got Jack Skellington tattooed on my chest and it made them think of Jack-o-lanterns.”

“Really? I’ll have to see that some time. I’ve got a skeleton too, look.” Alex held out his free arm and pointed out a skeleton trick or treating, but then winced as the nurse did something to his other arm. “My nickname should be pin cushion.”

The nurse smiled apologetically. “Sorry hun, I promise I’m nearly done.”

“Nah. We’d call you Ticker, because of your dodgy ticker.” Jack tried to make light of Alex’s condition and immediately regretted it. He wasn’t sure if he’d crossed a line as he seemed to have a habit of putting his foot in it at the worst of times.

This time, however, Jack fell lucky as Alex’s face scrunched up with laughter. “If we’re going down that road it’d be more like time bomb.”

“Is it really that bad?” Jack asked, worry slowly creeping into his veins.

Alex shrugged, a smile still stretched across his face. “Who knows Jack-o, who knows? It’d depend on who you asked.”

“Oh.” Jack didn’t know what else to say. What could he say to something like that? ‘Oh that sucks, I hope you don’t die’ wouldn’t cut it.

The small frown he pulled didn’t go unnoticed by the nurse, who gave Alex a stern look which he returned for a couple of seconds before crumbling under the pressure. “Alright, fine. I’m more like a time bomb that’s been stalled during its countdown. It’s not that much of a threat, no need to worry.”

“Oh, that’s good? I mean, it’s not good but, er, yeah,” Jack rambled, twisting his hands around in his lap. “Speaking of time bombs, there was a bomb scare at work a couple of years back. A canister washed up on Valentine’s Day and they had to put the beach on lockdown. The bomb squad had to come in and all the traffic got stopped. It was pretty intense; they thought we could’ve lost the tower.”

“Wait, was it a bomb?” Alex seemed hooked on his words, watching him with curiosity. “Where were you? Did anyone get hurt?”

Jack chuckled at the flurry of questions being thrown his way. “It wasn’t, it turned out to be a military flare used on submarines. It would’ve thrown molten metal all over the place if it’d gone off, so it would’ve been pretty bad. Secondly I’ve got no idea; it was before I was there on a regular basis. I was probably playing video games in my parent’s house or trying to win hearts on some terribly cheesy date. No one was hurt except one of the guy’s egos when he got told off for carrying the thing up to the station when it clearly said you had to call the police or military if you found it.”

Alex chuckled, shaking his head at Jack’s words. “The common sense some people lack is amazing. How have we survived this far as a race?”

“I’ve no idea, but anyway you can’t speak, Mr. Goes-swimming-when-the-beach-is-shut-with-a-heart-condition.” Jack teased, poking Alex’s arm gently.

Alex shot him a look of amusement before jabbing his own finger at Jack, “You’re meant to be nice.”

“Oh, am I?” Jack cocked an eyebrow at the boy, a smirk pulling at his lips. “What gave you that Idea?”

Alex’s face scrunched up as he pretended to be mad, the smile tugging at the corners of his lips giving it away. “It’s my birthday! _And_ I’m in hospital! It’s the rules!”

“You have a convincing argument, birthday boy.” Jack shifted his seat closer to the bed, letting his arm rest against the mattress. “Should I buy you two bags of common sense then? I mean, I was thinking a card and some chocolate but maybe that would be more useful.”

“Stop it!” Alex batted Jack’s shoulder, a grin spread across his face. “You’re so mean!”

“I know; who knew Prince Charming could be such a dick!” Jack pretended to sweep his hair back, earning an amused scoff from Alex.

“You’re not Prince Charming; you’re more like Shrek! Or Donkey?” Alex squinted at Jack, “Yeah, definitely Donkey.”

Jack knew Alex was just playing around, so he gasped, throwing his hand onto his chest. “I don’t know if I’m meant to be offended or elated that you think I’m as funny as Eddie Murphy.”

“Nah, I’d say it’s more because you look like an ass-” Alex cut himself off, his gaze falling on the door behind Jack.

Jack wonders why, until he twists in his seat and is met with the view. A tall doctor has stopped in the doorway, reading a chart. It takes a moment for Jack to remember how to shut his mouth as the doctor looks up from the chart to Alex and flashes a pearly white smile his way.

“Mr Gaskarth, how are we feeling today?” He strides over, unhooking another file off the end of Alex’s bed.

“I-I’m good. A bit tired, though.” Alex’s voice was quieter now, a pink tint now on his cheeks that was clearly visible on his pasty skin.

“That’s to be expected, I’m afraid.” Jack watched as the doctor jotted some stats down off the monitors and frowned. “Your oxygen’s a little low and you’re looking a little flushed; I’m just going to check your temperature and have a quick listen to your chest. I don’t know if you want your friend to stay or not; he could wait outside for a moment if you’d prefer.”

“No. No, it’s fine, he can stay.” Alex bit his bottom lip, his gaze flicking to Jack’s as the doctor produced a thermometer and went around the other side of the bed to pop it into Alex’s ear.

Jack’s gaze drifted up the other man; he couldn’t be much older than them. Maybe twenty five at most. If he was going to use the term drop dead gorgeous to describe anyone, he’d use it for him. Jack felt a little ridiculous, really, being unable to peel his eyes off the man but he was just _that_ stunning. It was like a model had fallen into the room with his slender yet toned frame, perfectly styled hair and a jawline sharp enough to kill. Jack could feel himself getting a little hot under the collar and was grateful that the attention wasn’t on him for once.

“Okay, and if you could just lean forward a little…” He placed his hand on Alex’s shoulder to steady him as he placed the stethoscope on his back, focusing on the task at hand. “Deep breath for me.”

Alex complied, dragging Jack’s attention towards him. The expression on his face was something Jack couldn’t quite put his finger on, a mixture of embarrassment and amusement, almost like he was longing for it to be over. That’s when he heard it, the beeping. The heartrate monitor beside Alex had started to bounce around at an even faster, somewhat uneven pace.

The doctor frowned again, somehow managing to make even that look…no. Jack couldn’t think about Alex’s doctor like that. Even less so about what he’d like to do with him in a supply closet if he was given half a chance. No, he had to behave. He couldn’t be thinking about seducing the man, not now. He had a silver wedding ring on anyway. Not that that would usually stop him.

“Mr. Gaskarth…” The doctor looked to be deliberating with something, looking at the boy like he was a mystery to be solved.

“White coat syndrome, honestly doc.” Alex leant back into his pillows, taking a slow deep breath. “Happens all the time, you’d think I’d be used to it by now.”

The doctor looked unconvinced but went back to his notes, flicking through a couple of pages before nodding. “I’m going to order an x-ray and have your temperature closely monitored for the next few hours; I’m a little concerned that you might be developing an infection so I’ll be back later to check on you. If you start feeling worse don’t hesitate to press your call button.”

“Thank you, doctor.” Alex mumbled, looking out of the window instead of at the doctor as he lathered his hands in hand sanitiser before heading out of the door and down the corridor.

Jack let out the breath he hadn’t realised he’d been holding in, shaking his head. “It should be illegal for a doctor to be _that_ hot.”

The words tumbled out of his mouth before his thoughts could catch up; when they did his eyes flew wide. He hoped Alex hadn’t heard, but judging by the way his eyes glued to his own it was too late to take it back.

“That’s alright for you to say! You’re not the one being touched by him.” Alex exclaimed, throwing his hands over his face. “Do you know how hard it’s been trying to keep my cool around Dr. Black? He’s going to put me in an early grave just by smiling at me.”

“I’m glad a heart monitor wasn’t on me when he walked in, it’d have skyrocketed.” Jack confessed, laughter bubbling through him. “He’s a health and safety risk.”

Alex laughed, readjusting his nasal cannula. “I guess we’re batting for the same team. Unless he’s turning straight men’s heads… which if I’m honest wouldn’t surprise me in the slightest.”

“Er.” Jack couldn’t process what he was hearing. They’d slipped so naturally into the conversation that he’d forgotten they weren’t _really_ friends. He was so used to being open about his sexuality and being the one to be come out that now he was hearing Alex, a boy he was struggling to get off his mind, say the words was almost surreal. It just didn’t happen to him; he didn’t meet guys he thought were cute or his type and then have them be on the spectrum. He was getting ahead of himself, far too ahead of himself. They were building a friendship here; one he hoped would flourish, so he nodded and tried to push any thoughts about the prospect of possibly not being declined a date with the birthday boy out of his head.

“You don’t seem sure about that, Donkey.” Alex said, putting on a terrible attempt at a Scottish accent. 

“I’m not Donkey.” Jack chuckled, resting his chin on his hand. “But I am sure.”

“How long have you known?” Alex asked. “You don’t have to answer that if you don’t want to.”

Jack shrugged, “It’s hard to tell. My Mom knew before me, kind of funny really. Apparently I liked to kiss people when I was a toddler but I’d only ever go after the boys. When I got a bit older it never really occurred to me that other boys _didn’t_ like boys until I was asked which girl I wanted to take to our first school dance. Had a good year or two of denial, or just not caring before I started crushing on my neighbour. Then I got my first boyfriend in middle school and learnt that there was a word for boys who date boys…actually I learnt quite a few words that boys who don’t kiss boys like to call boys who do. Been the gay kid ever since, even when we moved here. Pretty sure I stood up in my first lesson to introduce myself and was like ‘hey I’m Jack, I’m from Baltimore in the US, and two interesting facts about me are that I’m gay and have seen blink-182 live seven times.’”

He paused, realising that he was rambling. “Sorry, you didn’t ask for my life story. Just since I was a kid, I guess.”

“It’s alright, I like hearing you talk.” Alex smiled warmly, fingers starting to pick at the sheet over his legs. “Personally I didn’t know ‘till my teens. I didn’t take it too well when I realised. It made me feel like I had one more thing out of my control.”

“Sorry,” Jack offered; he’d also had to come to terms with his sexuality but purely because of the fact that in this world it wasn’t always accepted. His naïve middle school self had struggled to comprehend why people who didn’t even know him could hate him over something he couldn’t help, but his mom had been a voice of reason, saying that people who mattered wouldn’t care. The battle had been brief but none the less a challenge.

“It’s not your fault. I mean, I was ill, being pulled out of school every other week for tests and drug trials. It got to a point where I just couldn’t keep up anymore, so the teachers and my parents were talking about pulling me out for home schooling, which I didn’t want because school was the only place I was normal, and then I had this big revelation that I was in love with my girlfriend’s brother and it couldn’t have come at a worse time. I couldn’t control my health, my grades, or who I fell for and let me tell you, internalised homophobia is one hell of a rollercoaster for someone who already feels out of control.” Alex huffed, “I came to terms with it though, thanks to my girlfriend at the time; she was amazing about the whole thing. She claimed she’d known it ‘wasn’t normal’ for a guy my age not to want to do it. She’d thought I might be asexual but nope, I just wanted to bang her brother, which I never did, which is brilliant by the way because we’re still good friends, and our families are friends so holidays would’ve been extremely awkward.”

“I bet.“ Jack chuckled. “Did he know you had a crush?”

“Oh, yeah.” Alex’s cheekbones flushed pink again. “When I got drunk for the first time, I was underage and Lisa, my ex, was with me… well, she couldn’t get me to walk back to her place so she called her brother and he came to pick us up at the side of the road…I don’t really remember much but Lisa said I cried for the full twenty minutes home about how much I loved him and asking why he wouldn’t love me. It’s not my proudest moment by far, but props to him for carrying me into their house and telling me it would be alright. Lisa said I wouldn’t let go of him until he gave me a kiss on the cheek so he’d obliged and then tucked me into her bed.”

Jack’s shoulders shook with laughter, “That’s sort of cute; the first time I got drunk I was seventeen and about eleven of us ended up doing body shots in Jenna’s basement for her eighteenth birthday. I woke up on her lawn ten hours later with a hangover from hell.”

“Don’t even get me started on hangovers from hell.” Alex deadpanned, grimacing at the memories. “I once threw up in the studio half way through a recording session with Slipknot because they’d pumped me full of alcohol the night before. I made a right mess of the sound board… I’m still mortified to this day. They, of course, thought it was hilarious.”

It took a moment for Jack to get past the name drop; he had a feeling he’d have to get used to them if Alex and himself did become friends(If not more.). “Ew, gross.”

“I know right? And there are hundreds of knobs and buttons on those things. It wasn’t easy to clean up, especially when it’s all electric.” Alex shook his head, still grimacing.

“At least it’s in the past.” Jack said, not wanting to offer up any of his hangover stories so early on. They could all wait for another day- one where the thought of Jack ending up unconscious and naked in the middle of a McDonald’s with nothing but a feather boa, hammer, and six ducks wouldn’t have Alex wanting to run for the hills.

Someone cleared their throat behind them; the blonde nurse was back wielding an in-ear thermometer. Jack hadn’t even realised she’d left. “Sorry to be such a party pooper, but after I’ve recorded this we’re going to be taking you down to the x-ray department.”

“Oh, okay.” Alex offered her a tight lipped smile as she stuck the device back in his ear. “Does that mean Jack has to go?”

The nurse hummed, looking up to the clock on the wall. “I’d say it’s going to take us at least half an hour to get you through, and that’s if there aren’t any emergencies waiting. By the time we get back up you wouldn’t have much visiting time left, but Jack’s welcome to wait if that’s what you’d both like.”

Alex pouted, gaze shifting to Jack’s as the thermometer beeped. “By the time I get back there probably won’t be much point.”

“It’s alright; I’ll come back tomorrow if you’d like.” Jack didn’t want to leave; he wanted to stay and chat all afternoon and learn as much as he could about the boy in front of him.

“I’ve got the op tomorrow…I might not feel up to seeing anyone.” Alex glanced at the nurse, as if she would somehow hold all of the answers.

She seemed to take the hint and hummed again, “Well if you’ve got Jack’s number, and you want us to call him after your surgery to say yes or no, I’m sure that can be arranged. I’ll give you two a couple of minutes then we’ll take you down”

She took Alex’s chart off the end of the bed and tottered out of the room, leaving them in relative silence, both seemingly unwilling to part.

“So, my number…” Jack trailed off, prompting Alex to reach over to his bedside cabinet and pull out a notebook and pen. 

“I really do appreciate this, but don’t feel pressured to come back just because I asked.” Alex rambled, handing Jack the stationary.

Jack flipped it open onto the first clean page and jotted his name and number down. “I want to, trust me.”

“You know, I don’t really think you’re like Donkey; you’re not annoying.” Alex mumbled, an edge of worry to his voice. “I don’t want you to think that I think of you like that. I just think you’re funny and let’s face it, Donkey is a great character.”

Jack chuckled again, handing the book back to Alex. “I think you’re overthinking it. I know you don’t mean it badly.”

Alex’s fingers brushed Jack’s as he took the book back, making butterflies flutter around his tummy. Judging by the way Alex slowly moved his hand away, lips parted and eyes wide, he felt it too.

“Haha, I just remembered. What do you call a donkey with three legs?” Jack broke the tension, slowly getting to his feet.

“I don’t know, what _do_ you call a donkey with three legs?” Alex raised an eyebrow at him, waiting for the punchline.

Jack withheld his laughter as he forced the words out, “A Wonky.”

Silence: nothing but the heartrate monitor beeping in the background for a full three seconds. The grin that broke across Alex’s face told Jack he’d succeeded but Alex wasn’t going to give him the satisfaction of laughing.

“Terrible. Absolutely terrible.” Alex shook his head, waving Jack towards the door.

Jack complied, slowly backing away, “Keep me updated?”

Alex nodded, shoulders now threatening to give his internalised laughter away. “Of course, now get out of my swamp!”


End file.
